T-Mobile's 3G data service is overpriced. Access to Wi-Fi hot spots is not well integrated.

Bottom Line

T-Mobile's webConnect USB Laptop Stick is hard to recommend, but it has nothing to do with the modem itself. T-Mobile simply doesn't offer enough 3G coverage to justify a $60-per-month subscription fee.

The webConnect USB Laptop Stick will connect your laptop to T-Mobile's wireless network. It's T-Mobile's first cellular modem, and it's not half bad, but I can't recommend it. The problem has nothing to do with the hardware: T-Mobile is charging way too much for its inferior 3G data service.

The 1.59-ounce webConnect, otherwise known as the Huawei E181, is the only USB modem for T-Mobile's 3G Internet service. It's a black-and-green, almost oval-shaped 3.4-by-1.1-by-0.47-inch USB stick, and comes in a small leatherette case. The modem integrates a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 16GB, and an external antenna jack. There's one LED, which flashes green to let you know you have a signal or blue to tell you you're connected. The modem can rotate 180 degrees on its swiveling USB plug to help accommodate oddly placed USB ports. The device works with Windows XP and Vista, and T-Mobile claims Mac support is coming soon.

The first time you plug the modem into your PC, it installs T-Mobile's connection manager, which is a pink-and-blue panel with three major options: Wi-Fi, Broadband, and VPN. Wi-Fi plays a much larger role here than with other wireless carriers, because T-Mobile's service plan comes with access to 10,000 T-Mobile Wi-Fi hot spots. The Wi-Fi and Broadband sections of the connection manager show signal strength on a five-bar scale.

In the Wi-Fi panel, you can pick a network, connect to a network, or browse a directory of T-Mobile hot spots. Unfortunately, T-Mobile deactivated the modem's built-in GPS, so the system can't tell you where the nearest hot spot is, or how to get to it. The connection manager also failed to detect or auto-connect to a hot spot at a Starbucks that we found using T-Mobile's own directory. Eventually I had to guess at the network name and click through to an authentication page, where it asked for a username and password I didn't have. The system was able to autodetect the network when I tried at a second Starbucks, but still it served up the authentication page. That's not a seamless experience.

The Broadband connection panel hooks you up with T-Mobile's 3G network or its slower, more common EDGE network (which gets download speeds of around 100 to 120 kilobits per second). But unlike the software for other carriers' modems it doesn't show you whether data is transferring or when your connection is stalled. T-Mobile assured me that this functionality will be added with an over-the-air update.

The webConnect is a quad-band EDGE device, with tri-band HSDPA on the 1,700-, 1,900- and 2,100-MHz bands. It won't roam on AT&T's network in the U.S., but it will on foreign networks, albeit at an outrageous charge of $15 per megabyte (or $10 per megabyte in Canada). That's megabyte, not gigabyte.

On my tests, I achieved unremarkable 3G speeds using the modem in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, New Yorkbut that's not a problem with the hardware. The webConnect itself supports much faster speeds than T-Mobile's network does; it's capable of HSDPA 7.2 for downloads and HSUPA 5.76 for uploads, while T-Mobile's network uses the slower HSDPA 3.6 system without HSUPA. Over seven rounds of testing, I averaged 534 Kbps down, with peaks at 931 Kbps. Uploads averaged 283 Kbps, with peaks at 324 Kbps. Although it's very difficult to make comparisons across networks, those speeds were comparable to what I've seen from a smaller carrier (Cricket), but slower than what I've experienced on a good day with the big guys (AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless).

T-Mobile's biggest problem is its price. The carrier charges $60 per month for 5GB of data (and a punitive charge of $200 per gigabyte if you exceed it), but its smallish network serves only about 100 million people. For the same price, Verizon Wireless's network covers more than 274 million people, so you get a truly national network, and you're a lot more likely to find a 3G signal wherever you are in your travels. T-Mobile needs either to start competing with Verizon and AT&T by building up its network (which will take time) or to compete on price with smaller carriers like Cricket, with its $40-per-month option. Until it does, I can't find any reason to recommend the otherwise-solid webConnect USB Laptop Stick.

PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 9 years with PCMag. He's the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, one of the hosts of the daily PCMag Live Web show and speaks frequently in mass media on cell-phone-related issues. His commentary has appeared on ABC, the BBC, the CBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and in newspapers from San Antonio, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta.
Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer, having contributed...
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